RFID tags are known in the art. These so-called tags often assume the form factor of a label or a literal “tag” but are also sometimes integrated with a host article and/or its packaging. RFID tags typically comprise an integrated circuit and one or more antennas. The integrated circuit typically carries out a variety of functions including modulating and demodulating radio frequency signals, data storage, and data processing. Some integrated circuits are active or self-powered (in whole or in part) while others are passive, being completely dependent upon an external power source (such as an RFID tag reader) to support their occasional functionality.
There are proposals to utilize RFID tags to individually identify individual items. The Electronic Product Code (EPC) as managed by EPCGlobal, Inc. represents one such effort in these regards. EPC-based RFID tags each have a unique serial number to thereby uniquely identify each tag and, by association, each item associated on a one-for-one basis with such tags.
Being able to read and then uniquely identify each item within a manufacturing facility, a cargo container, a staging area, or in a retail display area offers any number of useful opportunities. Reading tags, particularly in bulk, comprises one area of endeavor in these regards. This often comprises reading the RFID tags for a number of items as those tags pass through a given controlled and relatively narrow and confined point of access (such as a doorway leading from a loading dock to an indoor staging area). In other cases, as when the RFID tags are distributed throughout a larger and less-controlled area, this often comprises reading the RFID tags using handheld RFID tag readers that are selectively moved through the tag population by a corresponding human handler.
While successful and effective to a point, such approaches nevertheless fail to address all useful application settings. For example, for practical and/or economic reasons, such approaches are not particularly well suited for use in relatively large facilities that contain relatively large numbers of RFID tags in circumstances that are always uniformly well suited to tag reading (and especially tag reading on a frequent or even largely-continuous basis).
Elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and/or relative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention. Certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. The terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary technical meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions by persons skilled in the technical field as set forth above except where different specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.